Ten Things You Didn't Know
by quirky cricket
Summary: Ten facts about each kid, written in the summer of 2002. Each chapter is a different character. Rated K plus for a swear word.
1. Arnold

**Ten things you didn't know about Arnold Perlstein**

- My parents are neat freaks - I've never had a pet that wasn't a fish (unless you count my pet rock, which I don't).

- I am an only child, but Janet is like a sister to me. My dad and his sister made sure they lived close.

- I have failed an assignment because a teacher couldn't read my writing.

- Dorothy Ann was my first kiss - I don't care what people say, it counts.

- I tend to hang around Tim the most out of the guys. Ralphie and Carlos do their crazy stuff. Tim is much more level-headed.

- My first date was with Keesha, where I found out that it was supposed to be with Phoebe. Girls are weird.

- I speak a little bit of Yiddish

- Once I tried to prove I wasn't a "weasley wimp" to Wanda and jumped off the high dive. I did the worst belly flop of my life. I wouldn't even go off the diving board for years.

- My parents met at a Star Trek convention. I was destined to be a nerd.

- I cried when I had to narrow down my rock collection in 7th grade.


	2. Wanda

**Ten things you didn't know about Wanda Li**

- I'm actually really good with kids, but no one would let me babysit because I'm "dangerous." I never actually gave William fireworks, I just joked with my mom about it once.

- I almost never cry, but thinking of animals getting killed in the shelter makes my eyes tear up. I blame my friendship with Phoebe for making me soft, as well as my cocker spaniel mix dog.

- I wanted Phoebe as a locker partner because she's neater than DA or Keesha and she'd give me less crap about how disastrously messy I am.

- Yes, I did want to have adorable Jew-dhist kids when I was 15.

- I was the last person to figure out that Arnold had this huge crush on me all through elementary school. By the time I had, though, he'd moved on. Despite my best efforts, we never made it past hugging.

- I like to fix cars, rappel, and ballroom dance. I'm accomplished at the samba.

- I'm Chinese-American, but I still get lots of shit about karate and sushi. I hate karate and sushi.

- I think that it would be awesome to have Tourette's Syndrome - or at least to pretend I did.

- My first kiss was Tim, because we felt bad for each other when we were 16 and depressed over our respective love interests' lack of interest.

- I was raised atheist, technically. I'm Buddhist.


	3. Carlos

**Ten things you didn't know about Carlos Ramon**

- Acting dumb is one of my hobbies. I get far by helping people underestimate me.

- I like the taste of Diet Coke better than regular Coke. I do NOT drink Diet Coke because I think I'm fat or because I'm gay, no matter what Ralphie says.

- I haven't been to Mass since my grandma's funeral (four years ago), yet I am still in the Holy Trinity of Catholics in the group.

- I'm full-blooded Mexican – and yes, I'm here legally. I'm third-generation American.

- I speak less Spanish than an 8th grader who passed Spanish I, but I got kicked out of Spanish I and put in remedial reading. I tried to say it was racist, but they didn't buy it.

- I liked DA in third grade, but distracted myself in 4th and 5th grade with some other girls. She obviously thought I was irritating. 6th grade I decided to make my move.

- I would make an awesome lawyer. My good looks and quick wit could win cases I didn't need to argue, and if I did need to argue - that's too easy.

- I argue with some people because they're frequently wrong, which means I win. I've convinced someone that strip-mining was when miners had "needs," then argued with them to disprove my own point, all without looking stupid.

- I lost my virginity in Arnold's downstairs family room.

- I wanted to lose my virginity in Phoebe's van, but she was going to kill me with her eyes if I thought about it any longer.


	4. Tim

**Ten things you didn't know about Tim Alexander**

- I'm originally from Frankfurt, Kentucky. My family moved just before I started kindergarten.

- Of the group, I'm the best at surfing and the worst at every other sport, even Skee Ball.

- I play the piano, violin, and the electric bass.

- I hate rap. I prefer blues, bluegrass, and other "southern" music. I love jazz.

- I don't paint, I draw in pencil and pen. I'm not good at all art just because I draw, and I hate it when people think that I am.

- I'd rather die than go to a Backstreet Boys concert - even if Wanda offered me sex. (I'm not gay, I don't want Wanda cooties, and by cooties, I mean "herpes.")

- My favorite subject is history. I do well because I have a visual mind and doodles actually help.

- I gave Wanda a picture I drew of her as Napoleon once. I'm still winning a bet I made with Carlos - she hasn't destroyed it yet.

- My first date was with Dorothy Ann to the crazy fifties dance. If she hadn't been with Carlos, I would've kissed her.

- Wanda was my first kiss – she felt bad for me. We were sophomores in high school and depressed that we didn't go to Homecoming with people we actually liked.


	5. Dorothy Ann

**Ten things you didn't know about Dorothy Ann Briggs**

- My parents don't really like each other. That's why they had so many kids: I'm the fourth of five girls. It gives them something to think about besides each other.

- I don't know what I want to do when I get older – astronomy or physics, maybe. I might teach college.

- My first kiss – sort of – was Carlos grabbing me in Tim's backyard.

- I didn't think to break up with Carlos until halfway through high school. It just never occurred to me.

- I'm almost as gullible as Phoebe, and Carlos has no idea.

- I crashed my 1995 Honda Civic into a ditch the second time I drove it. I can't get another car until I can afford it myself, which will be a LONG time from now.

- I'm a visual learner – I can see the words on the page of books when I try to recall information.

- I felt really stupid sometimes as a kid, so I started carrying books around to be prepared.

- I have never used fake tanning products – I lay out or go to the tanning salon.

- My family has lived in Walkerville for nearly 100 years, as long as it has existed.


	6. Ralphie

**Ten things you didn't know about Ralph(ie) Tennelli**

- My dad is a way better cook than my mom, who's originally from the Italian area of New York. My parents' first date was to see _The Godfather_.

- I'm one of the Trifecta – Phoebe, Carlos, and me are all Catholic.

- I still am not a big fan of roller coasters, although Keesha did kind of help with that after graduation.

- I was born in Walkerville, but only just barely. My parents were about to go back to New York for the last of their stuff when my mom went into labor.

- I'm an only child. My grandpa lived with us since I was in second grade.

- I love REO Speedwagon. Almost nobody knows this.

- I thought I was going to love chemistry in high school, but we didn't spend nearly enough time blowing stuff up.

- I'm a fairly good pianist, unless I try to sing along. Then the horrendous singing outweighs the decent piano-playing.

- Carlos thinks I'm girly because I like chocolate. I remind him that he drinks Diet Coke.

- My first kiss is also one of my most embarrassing moments, so we won't talk about it.


	7. Keesha

**Ten things you didn't know about Keesha Franklin**

- My parents died when I was two in a car accident. I live with my awesome grandma.

- I grew up with a Dalmatian named Pongo, after _101 Dalmatians_. I knew Phoebe and I were going to get along when Pongo liked her.

- Phoebe's been my "official" best friend since third grade, but in middle school that became less of a big deal.

- Despite being more mature than some of the others, I was the last person to notice the other sex. Unfortunately, I did so quite loudly in the middle of a break between classes. Yeah, I'm good at making myself look stupid.

- I have a tendency to exclaim things I find out very loudly without regard to where I am. I was shunned for exclaiming that Arnold is Jewish – I was the class Nazi in ninth grade.

- My parents came from San Francisco and were apparently hippies. My name was supposed to be Sunshine or something stupid like that. I'm so glad my grandma talked them out of it.

- My grandpa died before I was born, so my grandma and I commiserate about losing our loved ones.

- Tim's grandpa came on to my grandma once at a parent-teacher conference. My grandma said he was a "creepy old man." Tim wasn't pleased when I told him, but he did think it was funny that his grandpa is using his bee farm to try to impress the ladies.

- DA was convinced that I was in love with Ralphie because we argue a lot, but didn't acknowledge that arguing meant love based on her experience. She was pissed that I called her on it. I didn't even have a crush on Ralphie until 8th grade.

- I was raised Unitarian, although my grandma struggles to believe in God much anymore – my dad was her only child.


	8. Phoebe

**Ten things you didn't know about Phoebe Terese**

- My father is French Canadian and my mother is Scotch-Irish. I'm one of the Triumvirate of Catholics in our group.

- I am not an only child. My brother, Danny, is eight years older than I am. He made me go on roller coasters when I was too young (according to my dad and me). I love roller coasters now, which "isn't like me," I guess.

- I was born in St. Johns, Newfoundland, Canada. My family moved to Walkerville when I was six.

- My dog, Daisy, a Golden Retriever, had a spiked collar, thanks to Danny. That only lasted a little while when she was a puppy. She outgrew it really fast.

- I transferred from my old school because my parents wanted me to be in a school where they did more science stuff, and Walkerville Elementary just got a grant.

- I did not ever have a crush on Mr. Seedplot… for more than twelve days in a row.

- Wanda tried to rope me into pulling pranks on the boys, who liked to prank her back. I found out she'd tried to get everyone involved at one point or another. Once she hid Carlos' science project in the closet while he went to the bathroom. He thought he was going to lose in the science fair. He almost cried. DA didn't know whether to be sympathetic or triumphant. I had to break the news to Carlos, since Wanda thought he wouldn't hit me.

- My first date was in sophomore year of high school, with Ralphie, of all people. We went to a sock hop and people all thought we were dating because we looked "so good together." Ralphie and I had the greatest appreciation of oldies out of the group, and apparently we looked the part, with my hair (it was in a ponytail for this, but I can't escape the image of my perma-flip) and Ralphie's letterman jacket. By the end of the night I had talked myself into liking Ralphie, only to find out on Monday that he was still harboring a crush on Keesha.

- Tim asked me out on a date once, and although I had the flu, I went. He never asked me out again, probably because I threw up in his car. We were still good friends, but I guess that we were never "meant to be." He then asked DA out while she and Carlos were on a break. They actually hit it off for a little while, causing Carlos to ask Wanda out. The rest of us decided that high school drama sucked.

- Carlos always called me a "Cathoholic," especially when I pointed out that he hadn't been to mass in years. Wanda actually thought I was an alcoholic or something, no one was sure. She never really elaborated on it. This was in eighth grade, when Wanda was still cutely naïve.


End file.
